There are presently available boat lifts of the type adapted to be removably placed in shallow bodies of water, such as lakes and rivers in order to provide "docking" facilities for small boats during the summer months. These lifts normally include a framework having a base portion adapted to be bottom supported within a body of water and a boat support portion adapted to be moved vertically relative to the base portion for selectively lifting a boat above the surface of the water and lowering same into a floating condition. A major drawback of prior small boat lifts of this type is the difficulty encountered in transporting same to a desired anchorage and/or returning same to dry land for winter storage.
Further, flotation devices of various types have previously been employed to support dry docks for transport to a desired location and/or to selectively effect raising and lowering of a boat, as evidenced for instance by U.S. Pat. No. 1,296,662 and Re. Pat. No. 27,090. However, to the best of my knowledge, flotation devices have not been successfully associated with small boat lifts or comparative devices in order to both facilitate transportation thereof to and from an offshore anchorage and assist in effecting submersion/emersion thereof at such anchorage.